Countertops are in and they are so pretty! I shared in my last kitchen update our decision to go with quartz for this project. Quartz is man-made, requires no sealing and doesn't stain or etch easily like marble. It's a great option for a home with kids and an even better option for a family that cooks a lot! 😁 When we saw the countertops being unloaded from the truck Isaac and I both freaked out a little because they looked SO WHITE and we had remembered more veining. Once we got up close and saw them installed we fell in love with them. I am still a marble lover through and through and if we every build a house I will probably use marble because there is something so unique and romantic about it. But that will be a little down the road. For now, and for this season we are in, I think we made the right choice (low maintenance)!
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
THE GREAT KITCHEN MAKEOVER: WE HAVE COUNTERTOPS!
Monday, October 26, 2020
FALL MENU PLANNING
All it takes is a week or two of cooler weather to put me in the mood for fall (and all the yummy food that comes along with it)! I love baking a batch of muffins for the week, or cooking up a big pot of soup to eat for a few nights with a crusty baguette. My doors are open, leaves are falling with every gust of wind, the smell of chicken, onions and garlic is coming from the kitchen... I'm warming up a cup of tea and watching the girls play in the dirt outside.
I've gotten very bad about planning out a weekly / monthly menu ever since I got pregnant with this little babe. Cooking was repulsive during the first trimester dealing with morning sickness, but now it's just laziness keeping me from planning and cooking dinners for the whole family. I've noticed that Madeline has gotten a little pickier and I think it's most definitely related to not having a "real dinner" every evening, and instead, making eggs or toast or pancakes for dinner and then cooking something else for Isaac to reheat when he gets home. So in an effort to change that and get back into my routine, here I am, sipping my tea, flipping through my favorite cookbooks and scrolling Pinterest for delicious fall meals that will get me excited to be back in the kitchen.
Here are some recipes, some new, some tried and true, inspiring my menu this season - maybe they'll inspire you too! xx
I didn't grow up in a chili-eating household so I'm still trying to adopt a fondness for chili flavors... that said, this one doesn't bother me. It's super easy to pop everything in the slow cooker before a busy day out.
Thursday, October 8, 2020
STEP INTO OUR SUKKAH...
Come inside our sukkah and have a seat! It's the first year in a very long time we haven't had a rainy Sukkot - it's been so nice getting to hang paper decorations without fear of them turning soggy!
We celebrate Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) to remember how God sheltered His people in the desert, and to look forward to when He will dwell again with us when He returns.
In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths."
The Law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. All the nations may walk in the name of their god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
"In that day," declares the Lord, "I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame my remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever." - Micah 4:1-7
Our sukkah is pretty simple every year - we aren't hard core enough to sleep in it but we do try to eat most of our meals in it together. I stick with a few decorations I can reuse and then add greenery, lights and artwork to finish it off. This year's sukkah is one of my favorites so far. It is so colorful and cheerful - the girls were able to help quite a bit with getting it set up and decorated this time and that makes it so special to me. We made the paper chains together, we colored and painted artwork to hang, Isaac cut down all the branches for the roof, and we took a special family trip to the garden center to pick out a butterfly wind chime - it makes the whole setup just so lovely whenever a breeze comes by.
Here's a little tour of our tiny 6'x6' sukkah!